If we were to ask an older person what his or her most important concerns for aging are, the most likely answers would include the following three principal concerns or life style wishes:
- Remaining independent in the home without intervention from others
- Maintaining good health and receiving adequate health care
- Having enough money for everyday needs and not outliving assets and income
Many people prepare for unexpected financial disasters by covering their homes, automobiles and health with insurance policies. But no other life event can be as devastating to an elderly person’s lifestyle, finances and security as needing eldercare. It drastically alters or completely eliminates the three principal lifestyle wishes listed above.
It is my experience that the majority of the American public does not plan for this crisis of needing eldercare. The lack of planning has an adverse effect on the older person’s family, with sacrifices made in time, money, and family lifestyles. For organizations and business owners, there is an even bigger and more impactful adverse effect. Business owners experience the effects of elder care on both a personal, financial and business success level.
How Elder Care Affects You Even If You Do Not Have Aging Parents or Aging Loved Ones.
Because of changing demographics, lack of planning and the potential changes in government funding, businesses need to plan for eldercare as much as they plan for general business success. Let us look as some facts according to the institute for the matured market.
- The population of the “very old,”–older than age 85–is the fastest growing group in America.
- Medical science is preventing early sudden deaths, which means people are living longer with impaired health and greater risk of needing eldercare.
- The Alzheimer’s Association estimates the risk of Alzheimer’s or dementia beyond age 85 to be about 46% of that population.
- 60% or more of the work force is involved in caregiving with 79% of them providing care to someone 50 years of age or older.
- 6 out of 10 employed caregivers reported that they made some work-related adjustments as a result of their caregiving responsibilities while 3% took early retirement and 6% left work entirely.
- Employer cost per employee due to caregiving is estimated at $2441 annually. The total estimated cost to employers for all full-time, employed caregivers is $33.6 billion annually.
- 97 % or organization do not have an organized and effective elder care work place program.
3 Strategies To Protect The Bottom Line
Here are some things you can do right now as a business owner.
#1. Engage employees and their families in life resource planning.
#2. Set up an effective elder care work place program that includes the 3 key components
#3. Provide work life balance programs especially for caregiver employees.
For more information on how to set up an effective elder care work place program for your organization, call 855-942-9933 or email, Stella@StellaNsong.com.
